JT Express

This review is identical to the one I left on Yelp. I'm leaving it on both sites in the hopes that it reaches the maximum number of people, and I hope my review can accomplish change.

The food here is really good, it's got a good amount of variety for the type of restaurant it is, and most of the food items are priced decently well for the Bay Area - the miso soup in particular is flavorful, has body, and comes in quite the massive container, all for only $2. Most restaurants from which you order takeout miso soup give you a container half that size for the same price, or even more expensive. The sushi nuggets are a particular favorite of mine - they're deep-fried California rolls and they're really good, perfect to share with a date or a friend along a main course (but there are other, healthier alternatives on the menu for those who are looking to cut calories).

Normally, I'd give this place 5 stars. But something happened to me there last time I went there that made me so upset with their customer service, that I'm deducting not one, but TWO stars, as what they did absolutely floored me.

No, the food wasn't dirty. No, they didn't refuse a refund. No, the staff wasn't professional - for this, I get that everyone has bad days, and people deserve second chances. But this? My request was so basic, that every other restaurant I'd been to before had granted it without question, even fast food restaurants (though once, not without some complaining from the staff, but that's a different story).

I had spilled a little soy sauce on my shirt, and was looking for some water to clean it off with, by dabbing a napkin into it and wiping my shirt with said wet napkin. I figured they would give me a cup of water to do that with. Yet to my surprise, when I walked up to the counter and politely asked for a cup of water, the staff member in question hesitated for a split second, then told me they didn't have tap water.

Excuse me? You don't have tap water? Did I hear that right? How are you supposed to do basic kitchen maintenance without tap water? How are you supposed to wash your meat products? Your raw seafood? Your hands? You have tap water in the bathroom, so why wouldn't you have it in the kitchen? More like they didn't want to give me tap water, and wanted me to buy bottled water. Even when I explained the reason for it, they told me they couldn't help me, and that left me upset and angry. You're lucky I'm not deducting THREE stars for what happened here.

If management reads this, when a customer asks for a cup of tap water, by California law, you are REQUIRED to give it to them for free. Your staff member's refusal to do it could reflect very poorly for you if she does it again for the type of customer who's more vindictive. For now, my review will suffice, and I hope that by your reading it, you will teach her this law, and hopefully this will not happen again.

Thank you for reading.

Edit: I spoke to the manager, Livia (I'm so sorry if I misspelled your name, my hearing is a little challenged over the phone). She told me the reason why I was refused water was more along the lines of a miscommunication. Apparently, their tap water isn't safe to drink without a filter, and the cashier assumed I was going to drink it. How I was partially at fault was that I should have gone into detail as to why I wanted a cup of tap water; not that it would have mattered in most circumstances, but I guess here it did in light of this.

So, two parties are at fault here - the cashier for not going into detail as to why she was refusing me tap water (just saying "we don't have it" won't suffice, dear), and I suppose me to a lesser extent by not going into more detail (which would have been to clean my shirt). If I had, she probably would have agreed and given me a cup of tap water, provided I didn't drink it. So, all's well that ends well. I hope they get their water filter replaced soon.

Amazing food!! Pretty good prices for San Jose. Love all of their desert!!

We arrived at this restaurant for dinner. my friend recommended this place. Well, we were not disappointed. The crew were extremely nice and we felt very good. The meal was tasty. We loved this spot very much and we will visit this place again. we highly recommend this place.

Very prompt service, very nice. And the sushi burrito was awesome! Thank you!

Friendly and cheerful staff, but the food's disappointing. Watery soup, ok sushi, mushy rice. Beef teriyaki was the best part, but it wasn't spectacular. Generous portions at least.